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| US PE on pace to set records across the board | | Last year, during the height of the pandemic, the US private equity industry was in full crisis mode as firms fought to keep portfolio companies in battered industries afloat. But just a year later, the asset class has arguably never been healthier, according to our Q2 2021 US PE Breakdown, sponsored by Twin Brook Capital Partners, West Monroe, Liberty GTS and Baker Tilly. - US PE dealmaking is on a record-setting pace through Q2, with deals of $1 billion-plus and middle-market transactions surging toward an annual high, thanks to a quick economic recovery, demand for high-yield debt, ample dry powder and a looming tax hike.
- US PE exits are also on pace to set records in 2021, as investors take advantage of buoyant public markets, an oversaturation of SPACs and increasingly aggressive strategic acquirers.
- For a time, the pandemic nearly brought PE fundraising to a halt, but it appears to have almost fully recovered, as LPs continue to pour money into alternative assets in search of lofty returns.
| | | | | | | | | | Thiel-backed Bullish to go public at $9B valuation | |  | | Billionaire Peter Thiel's Thiel Capital and Founders Fund helped launch Bullish in May. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images) | | | Blank-check companies have built a reputation for targeting companies that have little to no revenue or are focused on nascent industries like flying taxis and self-driving vehicles and taking them public.
Even by those standards, crypto company Bullish Global's SPAC merger is an outlier. - Bullish, which has yet to launch its flagship crypto exchange, spun out of Block.one in May with an investment of $300 million from Peter Thiel's Thiel Capital, Founders Fund and others. Block.one capitalized the new company with $100 million, plus 164,000 bitcoin and 20 million EOS, another cryptocurrency.
- The deal with Far Peak Acquisition gives Bullish a $9 billion equity value and will bring in as much as $600 million from the blank-check company's trust, as well as $300 million from a PIPE deal backed by EFM Asset Management. Far Peak is led by CEO Thomas Farley, the former NYSE president, who is also taking over as chief of Bullish.
- Bullish's exchange, slated to launch later this year, aims to improve on current crypto exchanges, which the company believes harm investors by contributing to high fees and volatility. Bullish signaled that having a publicly traded stock would help it grow through acquisitions.
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| What top VCs have in common | | The best venture capitalists partner with founders before fundraising. Tegus has an inside look through helping hundreds of firms. Innovative VCs include founders in diligence, learning and building a relationship along the way: - Redpoint and their peers introduce founders to prospective customers. Leverage your network and third parties to expand a founder's reach.
- First Round Capital and Pear VC invite founders to expert calls. Conducting diligence alongside founders is a win-win—you get up to speed; founders learn directly from experts. Plus, you've demonstrated your value as a partner.
- Greenoaks and the Investment Group of Santa Barbara build in learning for portfolio companies. Sharing diligence tools expedites a founder's path to product-market fit and makes learning frictionless.
Learn how Tegus helps VCs win deals | | | | | | | |
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| | The pandemic has pushed organizations in many industries to embrace digitalization. To what extent has that extended to board operations? [Harvard Business Review]
One bureaucrat in China used Twitter to remake Beijing's diplomacy for a nationalistic era. Meet the man behind the country's aggressive new voice. [The New York Times]
Why investors shouldn't depend on stocks and bonds to hedge each other. [Bloomberg] | | | | | |
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| | Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added: | | 22 Deals | 121 People | 62 Companies | | | | | | |
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| 2019 Vintage North American Debt Funds | | | | | | |
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| A message from RBC Capital Markets | | |
| What's driving M&A and SPACs today? | | There has been an unprecedented level of M&A activity since mid-year 2020 as markets continue to recover post-COVID-19. SPACs accounted for roughly 20% of all M&A volume in the US in the first four months of 2021, and these vehicles have approximately $700 billion to $1 trillion of buying power.
But will SPAC activity continue to grow given the recent regulatory focus? RBC Capital Markets' M&A experts believe regulation will be a long-term positive for SPACs, and that SPACs will continue to be significant M&A players going forward.
See what's moving M&A and get insights from RBC's experts on key opportunities likely to emerge. | | | | | | | |
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| Netskope hits $7.5B valuation | | | Netskope has closed a $300 million round at a valuation of $7.5 billion, more than twice the $2.8 billion valuation the cybersecurity company received with its Series G in 2020. The latest investment was led by Iconiq Growth, with participation from other existing investors including Lightspeed, Accel and Sequoia. | | | | | | | | | Ridehailing company Ola has raised $500 million from Temasek, Warburg Pincus and Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal ahead of the Bengaluru-based company's IPO. The investment brings Ola's total venture funding raised to more than $4 billion, according to PitchBook data. | | | | | | | | Delivery startup Kurly hits $2.2B valuation | | | Kurly has raised a $200 million Series F that values the company at $2.2 billion, TechCrunch reported. The round was co-led by Aspex Management, DST Global, Sequoia China and Hillhouse Capital, according to the report. The South Korean company operates a fresh-food delivery platform that offers overnight service. | | | | | | | | Paris-based Didomi rakes in $40M Series B | | | Breega and Elephant have led a $40 million investment in Didomi. The startup's platform helps companies and developers to manage user consent and preferences across web, mobile and in-app channels. Didomi will use the Series B capital in part to fund its expansion in the US. To date, the French company has secured $46 million in total funding. | | | | | | | | Digital+ leads $20M investment in Anyline | | | Anyline has raised $20 million in a growth round led by Digital+ Partners. Founded in 2013, Anyline offers mobile scanning technology that can capture data in real time and is used in a range of industries including retail, manufacturing and logistics. Its software was also used to process at-home COVID-19 tests. Anyline maintains offices in Vienna and Boston. | | | | | |
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| Thoma Bravo looks to take Stamps.com private for $6.6B | | | Thoma Bravo has agreed to acquire Stamps.com, an El Segundo, Calif.-based provider of ecommerce shipping services to consumers, small businesses and others, in an all-cash deal that values the company at approximately $6.6 billion. Thoma Bravo will pay $330 per share for the company, marking a 67% premium to Stamps.com's Thursday closing price. Stamps.com now has a 40-day go-shop period where it can solicit alternative offers. | | | | | | | | PE-backed WildFire strikes $650M add-on deal | | | WildFire Energy, a platform that acquires oil and gas assets in the US, has agreed to acquire Denver-based Hawkwood Energy in a deal that values the oil and natural gas exploration and production company at around $650 million. As part of the transaction, existing Hawkwood shareholders will retain an approximately 50% stake in WildFire, with WildFire management and private equity backer Kayne Anderson owning the remaining stake. | | | | | |
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| PE-backed EV maker Polestar in talks with US SPAC | | | | | | |
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| Redpoint raises $725M growth fund, adds former GitHub CTO as partner | | | Redpoint Ventures, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based firm, has raised $725 million for its fourth Omega growth equity fund. Redpoint has also added Jason Warner, former GitHub CTO, as a partner. Redpoint typically targets investments in sectors like fintech, healthcare and infrastructure. | | | | | |
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| Philip Morris stubs out rival Carlyle bid with $1.5B Vectura offer | | | UK pharmaceutical company Vectura has agreed to a £1.05 billion (about $1.5 billion) cash takeover offer from tobacco giant Philip Morris International, declining an earlier bid from The Carlyle Group. The 150 pence-per-share offer from PMI represents a 10% premium to Carlyle's bid, and Vectura's board has withdrawn its recommendation to accept Carlyle's offer in favor of PMI's. Founded in 1997, Vectura specializes in inhaled medicines. The agreement comes a week after EQT agreed to sell Fertin Pharma, a maker of nicotine gum, to PMI for 5.1 billion Danish kronor (about $814.5 million) | | | | | |
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